Forgive and Forget
by angel1983
Summary: Don Flack is accused of murder by Stella Bonesera... Don/Aiden


Hey All… Recently I've been on a CSI NY rampage watching almost all episodes from seasons 1 to 6 and also reading a lot of the fics published here. I have been wanting to try and write some short one shots based on the episodes but a quote from 5.13 – Rush to Judgement inspired me to write a story where Flack is actually accused of outright murder rather that just a suspicious death in interrogation. Sadly enough this is not a case fic. I can't write one of those no matter how hard I tried. This is just mostly from Flack's POV, his feelings on losing the love of his life and being accused of murder by someone close to him.

This story is AU in the sense that I'm assuming that Flack and Aiden were in a relationship. I really do not like the Don/Jess pairing that is canon. As far as dates is concerned this is somewhere before 2.20 which means Stella shooting Frankie hasn't happened

Also I have made Stella the bad guy in this story not because I don't like her. She is actually the only other female character in the story apart from Aiden I like but because this story is actually inspired by Mac's quote to Sid "Don Flack did not kill this boy, find out what did". Therefore I really couldn't make Mac the accuser and I needed it to be one of them…

Also I'm not completely happy with the ending but its one am in the morning here and I really wanted to post this tonight before I went off to sleep. But I will try and see if I can change it a bit later… So on with the story

Disclaimer: I do not own CSI NY.

Forgive and Forget

The tall, almost too thin man walked into the office building housing the New York crime lab. Entering the elevator he pressed the appropriate button. Leaning back against the walls of the elevator he acknowledged silently to himself that it was good to get out of the hustle and bustle of the city. New York always had been and always would be his home but lately he found that he cared little about the city or anything else that mattered - not since that fateful day when…

He swallowed hard. He had let his thoughts wander. Images came unbidden to his mind, fragmented ones at best as he had no actual memory of that day. All he remembered was a truck, a crash, blood and pain; and a life snuffed out. Not just any one's life but that of his love… _Aiden…_

The pinging of the elevator mercifully stopped his thoughts from moving any further. He got off at the 35th floor and made his way to the office of Detective Mac Taylor. _That's odd_ he thought to himself as the man who had wanted him to come in was nowhere to be found. _Oh well Mac won't mind if I borrow his couch_.

Glad to get off of his feet which were starting to bother him – he felt like he had aged ever since the accident – he leaned against the headrest and closed his eyes. His thoughts once again went in the direction he did not want them to but he seemed to have no control over them these days.

He had woken up almost 24 hours after EMS had found them and had been met by the worried faces of Mac Taylor the head of the NYC crime lab and Daniel Messer his closest friend. It had taken him a few minutes to get his bearings and after he had been poked and prodded – in his opinion way too much by well meaning doctors and nurses – it had been the absence of someone rather than his friends' presence which had clued him to the fact that something was wrong.

The confirmation came when the normally closed face of the ex marine crumbled. Mac's eyes told him everything he needed to know but he had stupidly turned his head towards the other person in the room. Danny Messer had never been capable of hiding his emotions and the tears in his eyes confirmed his worse thoughts. And yet he had not wanted to believe, he had needed to hear the words as horrible as they were. He had needed the confirmation from Mac's lips.

"Aiden…" he had whispered.

"Flack, FLACK…" a loud voice called out. His train of thoughts broken, he looked up into the green eyes of detective Stella Bonesera. Judging by the look on her face she had been trying to get his attention for a while. He wanted to respond, wanted to let her know that he had heard her but her presence had only served to dredge up more unwanted memories.

The gun, the hole in Aiden's forehead and the GSR on his hands all serving to prove that Aiden had not died in a car crash but had been murdered – by his very own backup piece usually strapped to his ankle.

"Flack are you all right", Stella's voice asked again as she sat on the couch beside him.

"I'm fine", he responded with a smile so fake that she did not even bother acknowledging it.

Flack though was proud to note that even though his smile was not up to the mark his voice was steady displaying none of the emotions he felt churning inside him.

"Just waiting for Mac", he elaborated when she just remained silent

"Oh he's in autopsy but he should be up here soon".

"I can wait"

Stella looked at him, really looked at him and saw the dark circle under his eyes and the pallor of his skin. When her eyes ran over the rest of him she noted that he had lost weight. Flack had always been pretty thin for a man of his height but now he seemed abnormally so.

It's just the grief she told herself but deep down she knew she was partly responsible for his state. After all she was the one who had…

Flack meanwhile was having trouble saying something, anything to the woman sitting beside him. After all what do you say to someone who during some of the worst moments of your life had…

"It's good to see you back here Don", a voice called from the doorway startling both of them out of their respective stupors; so lost in thought had they been they had not heard the owner of the office come in.

"Hey Mac", Don responded warmly standing up and walking over to clasp his friend's arm. Mac surprised him by pulling him into a hug.

"How have you been?" came the question.

"I'm fine", he automatically responded. It had become more of a reflex reaction in the face of concern more than anything else. If he had to be honest with himself he was starting to become sick and tired of the concerned stares and the whispered voices around him.

"You said over the phone you wanted to see me", he questioned not wanting Mac to dwell on his short answer.

"I also told you it wasn't urgent. You needn't have come in so soon".

"Oh well there is nothing else for me to do these days anyway. I mean there is only so much time you can spend staring at the walls of your house", he finished with a small smile.

Mac's face was as inexpressive as ever. He could never tell what the older man was thinking and his staring had always made him uncomfortable. It always made him feel like a delinquent teenager in front of the school principal. He had a crazy feeling of being judged. Not willing to show how much his scrutiny was affecting him he simply raised an eyebrow questioningly at his friend. Mac however chose not to respond to his look and turned towards the other occupant of the room.

"Was there something you needed Stella?" he asked his second-in-command.

For a moment it seemed as if Stella would not answer. Her eyes held a faraway look but then she turned towards the source of the voice.

"Oh I wasn't looking for you Mac. I just saw Don sitting in your office and thought I'd check up on him. Well I'd better get back to work and let you guys do your thing", she finished and walked away to her office.

Mac stared at the spot she had occupied a moment longer before turning back to his visitor.

"Just give me a minute to sort some things out and we'll talk", he told him with a smile.

"Take your time Mac. Like I said I got nothing else to do now", with that Don settled back on Mac's couch eyes wandering around the room seemingly taking in the pictures hanging on the wall around him. His head though was a million miles away back to that fateful day.

"Where's Aiden Mac?" he remembered asking the ex marine.

"Don…"

"Dammit Mac just tell me where she is", he had hollered beginning to rise prompting Danny to push him back on to the bed.

"Flack you need to lie back down. Your injuries…" Danny began but had been interrupted.

"What I need to know is where she is. Where the hell is Aiden?"

Mac had at his latest outburst calmly explained what had happened. The car crash, the bullet, the gun, the GSR, Aiden's blood on the carpet mixed with those of his own from the crash, his prints the only ones on the gun. Mac had laid it all out in front of him and Flack had taken it all in silently. The most horrifying fact was that he didn't remember – any of it. The only memories he had too this date were fragmented ones; images which were unfortunately not enough to give him enough knowledge of what had actually happened. But more importantly they were not enough to give him any sort of a defence. If they took the evidence collected at face value Aiden Burn was the victim of a homicide and Detective Donald Flack Jr. was the one who had killed her.

Mac Taylor was someone who only ever believed in the evidence collected. Everyone was guilty until the evidence proved otherwise. At least that was what Flack had thought up until a month ago since this whole nightmare started. So when Mac had finished telling him what had happened Don had been expecting to be arrested and hauled off to jail. In fact under any other circumstance with anyone else the perp would already be in holding cooling his heels. So he was surprised to hear that not only had Mac no intention of arresting him but that he believed so completely in his innocence.

"I know you did not kill Aiden Don", had been his exact words. "And we will find out who actually did", he had finished with conviction.

Don had felt himself choking up with emotion at those words and had he had admitted to himself shamefully not been able to stop the tears from falling.

Stella Bonesera on the other hand was someone who counted on gut instincts. To her the evidence only went so far. She would never condemn a friend without giving them a chance to prove their innocence. Again that had been Flack's impression, but again he had been wrong. It was Stella who had vigorously tried to put him away. In fact she had turned up at the hospital and demanded he be released to police custody and locked up. So convinced had she been of his guilt she had not even tried to investigate Aiden's death.

As Don's eyes actually refocused on the office in front of him and took in the features of the man sitting in front of him he silently acknowledged that he owed the ex marine a huge debt, the kind he could never repay. It was Mac and Danny putting aside their grief for a fallen friend who had tirelessly worked to prove his innocence. Not just that they had been at the hospital every single day reassuring him that things would turn out to be okay.

Mac at last seemed to be done with his work as he came and sat down in front of Don.

"So how have you really been", he asked the detective not willing to believe his "I'm fine"

Before Don could lie to Mac and dig himself a deep hole Danny of all people turned up to rescue him.

"Yo Flack", he called out with that stupid grin on his face. "Heard a rumour you were around. Thought I'd come check it out. It's good to see ya man".

Flack grinned back at him partly out of relief in not wanting to answer awkward questions and partly out of amusement. "What are you talking about Messer? You saw me this morning remember".

And he had he thought. Danny had been around most days since he had been released from the hospital. In fact they seemed to see more of each other now than when they worked on cases together. Don silently accepted the fact that if it hadn't been for Danny he would not have made it through the past month. The guy had even put aside his own grief to stand by his friend.

"Oh yeah Don but that was back at the house. It's good to see you out and about you know", he answered. "Anyway listen me, Montana and Hawkes are gonna grab a couple of beers. You in? I mean come on you been cooped up way too much on your own. This'll do you good".

Don though had already started shaking his head. "I don't think so Mess. I'm gonna finish up here with whatever Mac wants and then head back to my place and crash. Doc says I need to get lotsa rest".

"And you actually follow your doctors orders?" came the question from the quite amused Doctor Sheldon Hawkes.

"I don't follow yours if that's what you wanna know", came the sarcastic reply. "Good to see you Shel".

"Good to see you too Don", Sheldon answered pulling him into a hug.

_Gee everyone's in a hugging mood today_ Don thought. First Mac now the doc.

"Hey Mac…" came a third voice from the doorway.

"Let me guess you heard a rumour that Flack was around and wanted to see how he was doing", Mac guessed smiling at the slightly blushing face of Lindsay.

"Hey Montana I was just asking Donny boy here to join you, me and Hawkes. What do you think?"

"Danny stop calling me Montana", Lindsay responded automatically though in a tired voice. Don guessed that she had actually given up on hope on Danny not using that nickname. He hid a small grin at the sight of his two friends. He like everyone else at the lab including Mac he suspected had figured out that Danny had a crush on Lindsay. The only two people oblivious to the whole thing were the couple themselves.

Said female half of the couple turned towards him. "I think it's a great idea Flack. Why don't you join us?"

"Nah Lindsay I don't think so. Like I said I wanna finish up whatever it is…", but he was interrupted.

"Actually why don't you join them Don. We can deal with the case tomorrow".

Don looked a little dazed by this turn of events. Was Mac Taylor asking him to actually skip work and go have fun? _Gee the world's upside down today_ thought the homicide detective.

"Join who where", came Sid's questioning voice from the doorway.

"Oh we were just thinking of going out for drinks Sid", Hawkes called out to his colleague. "Why don't you tag along too?"

"Well I…" the medical examiner began.

"Actually we could all go", Lindsay said lighting up a bit. "I mean it's been a while since we've gone out as a team". And before anyone could even reply she called out to the one person missing from their group. "Hey Stell"

Detective Bonesera approached the group on hearing the younger woman's voice.

"Oh hey guys. What can I do for you Lindsay?"

"Oh we were all thinking of going out to grab a drink. What do you say, you in?" she asked the older woman brightly.

An awkward silence seemed to fill the room all of a sudden. Don noticed that Lindsay was the only one valiantly holding her smile still in place. Hawkes and Sid's eyes suddenly held expressions which clearly said they wanted to anywhere but here. And Danny, the tall detective was startled at the look on his friend's face. Danny's eyes were cold, his traditional grin missing. Flack frowned; something seemed to have changed in the month he had been away. Why was Danny so angry at Stella? He asked himself. And then it hit him and he felt like he could kick himself. He was responsible for this whole mess.

During the days after he had been proved innocent, Stella had made numerous attempts to come see him and talk to him, but Don had shut her out. He had either pretended to be tired or knocked out from his meds and the older detective taking the hint had stopped trying. Eventually work had gotten in the way and this was the first time they had seen each other since.

Flack however had not been able to keep the disappointment to himself. Stella's suspicion had hit him harder than he had been willing to admit and one night when Danny had come to check on him, Don had in a drunken stupor poured his heart out to him. Though he seemed to have come to terms with the fact that he had been accused of murder by someone who he thought trusted him things though were still awkward between them and he had come in here today partly to try and fix things up with the curly haired woman. Danny's anger though seemed to complicate everything.

Don knew he had to fix this before things got out of hand. Before Stella could open her mouth and offer what he knew would be a refusal he chimed in. "Actually guys I changed my mind. I'm game if you guys can get these two to join us", he said pointing at Stella and her boss. Even as he said this though his eyes looked pleadingly at his best friend silently begging him to help out.

Danny frowned at him, but then sighed. "What do you say guys he asked looking over his two bosses. You in?"

Mac Taylor's face hid a smile at the turn of events. Things had turned much better than even he had hoped it would. "Why not sure. Stella?"

The minute Don heard Mac's reply he had his confirmation. There was no case he thought. Mac had played him. But he could not dredge up enough energy to be mad at the older man. The guy had done what he had thought was good for his team. And Flack silently acknowledged that he was right. Whatever problems he had with Stella he needed to work them out before he came back to work. After all he enjoyed working at the crime lab and working with the lab rats.

As his thoughts ended his eyes met Stella's and he gave her a soft smile. That was all the confirmation the other detective seemed to need to accept the invitation. As they all jokingly walked towards the elevator trying to decide how to get Mac drunk Flack thought he heard a soft voice whisper in his ear…

"To err is human, to forgive is divine".


End file.
